shotgun

C2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈʃɑtɡʌn/ UK /ˈʃɒtɡʌn/ See IPA manual

Freq #5343

Meanings

1

noun
a smoothbore firearm designed to fire cartridges containing many small pellets or a single slug

She told them to send a farmhand to the barn with a shotgun.
2

noun
the front passenger seat of a vehicle

Maya called shotgun before anyone else reached the car.
3

noun
a narrow house whose rooms are arranged one behind another without a hallway

The family restored a nineteenth-century shotgun in New Orleans.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a smoothbore firearm... scattergunsmoothbore

2 noun · the front passenger seat of... front passenger seat

3 noun · a narrow house whose rooms... shotgun houseshotgun shack

Word family

Derived forms shotgunnershotgunlike

Related forms shot gun buckshotride shotgun

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

shotgun shell
a cartridge containing shot for use in a shotgun

Noun + noun

Idioms (1)

See all

shotgun approach
a broad, unfocused strategy that tries many things at once, hoping one will work

Etymology

A compound of shot and gun, originally naming a firearm that projects shot rather than a single bullet. The front-seat sense comes from ride shotgun, referring to an armed guard seated beside the driver of a stagecoach. The origin of the shotgun-house name is disputed.

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# shotgun

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈʃɑtɡʌn/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈʃɒtɡʌn/
**Frequency rank:** 5343

## Meanings
1. a smoothbore firearm designed to fire cartridges containing many small pellets or a single slug
2. the front passenger seat of a vehicle
3. a narrow house whose rooms are arranged one behind another without a hallway

## Examples
- She told them to send a farmhand to the barn with a shotgun.
- Maya called shotgun before anyone else reached the car.
- The family restored a nineteenth-century shotgun in New Orleans.

## Synonyms
- scattergun
- smoothbore
- front passenger seat
- shotgun house

## Derived Forms
- shotgunner
- shotgunlike

## Related Forms
- shot
- gun
- buckshot
- ride shotgun

## Etymology
A compound of shot and gun, originally naming a firearm that projects shot rather than a single bullet. The front-seat sense comes from ride shotgun, referring to an armed guard seated beside the driver of a stagecoach. The origin of the shotgun-house name is disputed.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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